Do you want to join the HMI Education team?

TweetAs explained earlier, we’re creating some new roles at HMI Education. If you’re interested in getting involved there’s no minimum or maximum commitment needed just a passion to help investigate and improve the UK’s education system. You may have an idea for an investigation, want to use your skills to assist an ongoing project, or just help to contribute to the site and its upkeep.

To help those who are interested we have created some outlines of roles and ways to contribute – these are listed below.

If you have any other specific ideas or want to find out more about getting involved don’t hesitate to get in touch with the team in the comments below or by emailing  matt@helpmeinvestigate.com.

1. Curation Editor

The first role is Curation Editor. This involves rounding up the most important developments and people in the field. These can be written manually, or automated (for an example of the latter see this roundup). The site editor will give you a list of useful feeds to start with.

You’ll develop knowledge of topical issues in the field, so you’ll know what’s newsworthy when you come across it, and what questions aren’t being answered. You’ll also build lists of useful contacts, and skills in research and automated publishing.

2. Community Manager

After a while curating, you might want to move into some community management. The core of this role is about bringing others into investigations – and bringing the site to others in the communities involved in the field.

You’ll gain experience of specific investigation skills, writing ‘how to’ posts about them, and editing guest posts from others. You’ll also build contacts on other investigations around the web, and experience of collaborating with those.

3. Data Journalist

Being able to find or create a data resource that community members can use – or to add data skills to a community that it lacks – is a key skill.

With support from the editor and others, this role will allow you to develop the skills to find data, interrogate it, and visualise it, while also developing important contacts who deal with the data on a regular basis.

4. Multimedia Reporter

Data stories tell you why something matters – but you also need to persuade people that they should care. When you get to that point, or you want to help on that side, you might want to take on the Multimedia role, telling human stories: interviews and case studies of those affected.

If you need experience of filming or recording audio, or mapping, this role will provide leads and sources, background and ideas. We’ll help fit your work into wider investigations and networks.

5. Special Project or Site Editor

Once you’ve performed a few of the roles you might want to combine them as editor of a specific project, or the site as a whole. This allows you to identify specific investigations and gain experience in the running of a site, managing contributors, organising events and producing longform investigations.

Once again, if you want to find out more about getting involved get in touch with the team in the comments below or by emailing paul@helpmeinvestigate.com.